• 02 Sep 2010 at 9:25 AM

Opening Bell: 09.02.10

Bernanke Meets Buffett In Role Conceived To Protect Markets (Bloomberg)
Under the Dodd-Frank law, Bernanke’s Fed gains powers never before housed in one regulator. The central bank remains the supervisor of 5,000 U.S. bank holding companies and 830 state banks. “When the dust settled, Congress realized that Bernanke and the Fed knew what they were doing,” says Mark Gertler, a New York University economics professor who did research with Bernanke, a former Princeton University professor, on the causes of the Great Depression. “The power of any Fed chairman is ultimately based on the perception by Congress that he will use it prudently. He has this reputation.”

SEC Charges Wharton Buddies (WSJ)
Mr. Self regularly called Mr. Goldfield from his cellphone while going to and from work at Merck, the SEC said. In one conversation, Mr. Self said that “the weather was in the 50s” or words to that effect, conveying that Mr. Self’s company’s bid for MedImmune was going to be in the $50s, the complaint said. At the time, MedImmune shares were trading in the $30s.

Goldman Sachs Invests To Get Its Image Right In China (Telegraph)
In what is thought to be a rare move for the bank, Goldman used Brunswick to carry out a reputational study in China shortly after hiring the company to be its retained public relations firm in the country last October. The short-term project, the findings of which are not publicly known and are unlikely to be released, was ordered ahead of the bank’s civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the fallout which followed. Ironically, news of Goldman’s interest in its public perception comes as the latest piece of anti-Goldman literature has become a bestseller in China. Goldman Sachs Conspiracy, by financial journalist Li Delin, is said to have sold more than 100,000 copies since it was released on June 1, making it something of a hit. The content is inflammatory to say the least, with the book branding Goldman as having the “cruel nature of a Manchurian tiger,” and “the IQ of an Israeli Shar Pei dog.”

RBS Cutting 3,500 Jobs (UTU)
Rob MacGregor said: “The news that the Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 3,500 staff from across the UK is a horror story. It will be a specially bitter pill for staff to swallow as RBS has decided to move some of the jobs abroad to the Far East, India and America.”

Romer: US May Need Stimulus II (NYP)
Departing White House economist Christina Romer said the US must find the political will for more action, beating back the bugbear of high deficits in favor of a second stimulus bill that would boost the economy and create jobs. “We have tools that would bring unemployment down without worsening our long-run fiscal outlook, if we can only find the will and the wisdom to use them,” Romer said in a speech at the National Press Club. “The United States still faces a substantial shortfall of aggregate demand. GDP by most estimates is still about 6 percent below trend,” she said.

Lehman Says Two Units Need Help To Avoid Failing (Reuters)
Aurora Bank FSB, formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank, has struggled to meet capital requirements as regulators have limited its ability to offer new certificates of deposit. The other banking unit, Woodlands Commercial Bank, faces similar restrictions from the regulator due to capital requirements, complicating efforts to sell the units.

3G Capital To Buy Burger King (WSJ)
The New York-based private investment firm is expected to acquire Burger King Holdings Inc. for $24 a share, people familiar with the matter said. The total deal, including both equity and debt, is around $4 billion. Banks are expected to finance about $2.8 billion of that sum.


SEC Probes Role Of Canceled Trades In Flash Crash
(WSJ)
The SEC is seeking to learn whether orders known as “sub-penny pricing” are used to manipulate the market, a person says, which would be illegal. At issue is whether the practice could artificially torpedo stocks’ prices or help make it appear that there is more trading volume in a stock than there really is, allowing sellers to profit when demand for the stock appears elevated. The agency has identified about half a dozen investment firms to question regarding “sub-penny” orders, this person says, and the inquiry is expected to take months to complete. The firms identified aren’t necessarily suspected of wrongdoing, and it is unclear whether there will be a formal investigation.

Comments (31)

  1. Posted by MW | September 2, 2010 at 1:43 PM

    “You’re going to like the way you look.”

  2. Posted by InfiniteGuest | September 2, 2010 at 1:44 PM

    Wharton, wow, I’m shocked. Shocked.

  3. Posted by JosA Banks | September 2, 2010 at 1:45 PM

    Back off, Mofo.

  4. Posted by NakedShort | September 2, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    Glad to see that BKC is going to get butt fucked with no lube while by PE once again, Ill look forward to the super sweet IPO sometime in 2012.

  5. Posted by Guest | September 2, 2010 at 1:54 PM

    This is silly. Either go full Keynesian or not. This half-assed hodge-podge policy to placate republicans and deficit hawks is failing by accomplishing nothing, esp. since they were never going to support the administration anyway. I guess it doesn’t help that Americans are getting dumber…

  6. Posted by Anonymous | September 2, 2010 at 1:56 PM

    Butt fucking a whopper with no lube is the new killing it.

  7. Posted by Bernanke | September 2, 2010 at 1:59 PM

    Respect my authoritah.

  8. Posted by CoveredLong | September 2, 2010 at 2:00 PM

    Today, is like, totally, 90210 day.

    -Tori

  9. Posted by Dr. Rosenrose | September 2, 2010 at 2:06 PM

    Couldn’t agree more. Compromise makes a lot more sense in politics than economics. And if I hear another pandering asshole congressman decry “the failed economic policies of the ______ administration” from either side, I’m just going to lose it.

  10. Posted by Lewis Winthorpe III | September 2, 2010 at 2:10 PM

    Happy birthday Bess!!!

    May your day be filled with vodka gimlets and articles that write themselves.

  11. Posted by NakedShort | September 2, 2010 at 2:24 PM

    This whole damn country is in the mess that its in because the failed economic policies of the W.H. Harrison adminstration. Its a fact, look it up.

  12. Posted by NakedShort | September 2, 2010 at 2:26 PM

    Its only killing it if you get to wear the King mask and crown

  13. Posted by Lewis Winthorpe III | September 2, 2010 at 2:31 PM

    It’s called the ’80s. Ford was president, Nixon was in the White House, and FDR was running this country into the ground.

  14. Posted by Les Bevin | September 2, 2010 at 2:34 PM

    Too soon.

  15. Posted by Mitch Cumstein | September 2, 2010 at 2:39 PM

    Bess, Smug, and Joe share the same birthday…

    That’s some grassy knoll ish.

  16. Posted by JEpstein | September 2, 2010 at 2:53 PM

    Bess is already too old for my taste.

  17. Posted by Ryann34 | September 2, 2010 at 3:00 PM

    Demand is local, but supply is global. Show me a stimulus that can trigger US growth. Anyone here think DC monkeys of either party can clear that hurtle? Not likely, lay the fuck off taxpayers’ dough.

  18. Posted by guestosaurus | September 2, 2010 at 3:14 PM

    yep they’ll make the Mcgangbang look like the healthy option..

    http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/03/the-mcgangbang-a-mcchicken-sandwich-inside-a-double-cheeseburger/

  19. Posted by Notexhausted | September 2, 2010 at 3:15 PM

    BL, just an update for ya:

    i reached out to help help today on the absence of random stories on the bberg DB news feed. (this morning’s numbers were non events and nothing besides this rally in base is going on, so i was a little bored). get this – they claim they are going to fix the problem, stat. wtf? that sort of proactive TCB deserves something. how about a cameo on the reality show with bobbie?

  20. Posted by guestosaurus | September 2, 2010 at 3:17 PM

    this is the only way you can posibly expect to make some money as a wharton grad, apart from selling your kidney’s on the internet

  21. Posted by Notexhausted | September 2, 2010 at 3:18 PM

    11:08:13 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK : It appears this is due to the lack of text in the body..we will have this corrected going forward..thank you
    11:08:22 REDACTED : really?
    11:08:28 REDACTED : that was it?
    11:08:43 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK : yes i believe so
    11:08:48 REDACTED : ok, drinks on me
    11:09:46 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK : sounds good…is there anything else we can help you with today?
    11:09:56 REDACTED : nah
    11:10:11 BLOOMBERG HELP DESK : have a nice day!!

  22. Posted by ManchurianTiger | September 2, 2010 at 3:28 PM

    I am a manchurian tiger, not an Isreali shar-pei dog!!!

    -Guy on 27th interview at 85 broad

  23. Posted by guestosaurus | September 2, 2010 at 3:29 PM

    Bess is too much of a vicious animal liar to my taste

    C. Assness

  24. Posted by Anonymous | September 2, 2010 at 3:40 PM

    It’s all Franklin Pierce’s fault.

  25. Posted by Anonymous | September 2, 2010 at 3:42 PM

    What about that kickboxing drug-dealer dude who got arrested a couple weeks back- wasn’t he a wharton grad?

  26. Posted by Mr. Market | September 2, 2010 at 3:44 PM

    Jos. A Banks never looked so good. I can assure you, when his tenure at the Fed is over, rather than “advising” a hedge fund or twelve like Alan, he’s going to become a national spokesman for Mr. Joseph.

    Disclosure: Long JOSB

  27. Posted by NakedShort | September 2, 2010 at 3:50 PM

    Buy one share of Jos. A Banks stock before Tuesday and get 2 out of the money call options for FREE!!!

  28. Posted by Guest | September 2, 2010 at 3:57 PM

    Could be worse. Could be in soviet russia.

  29. Posted by Anonymous | September 2, 2010 at 4:54 PM

    Nah, Harrison was a terrific prez. I blame the Teapot Dome scandal. Also the Louisiana Purchase–Jefferson should have left well enough alone.

  30. Posted by The Donald | September 2, 2010 at 5:04 PM

    Two words: Trump Steaks

  31. Posted by Anonymous | September 2, 2010 at 5:15 PM

    That and the Mexican War.

Leave a comment

You can log in with your account or comment as a guest below.